The Mercury News reports that Lloyd Ward, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee, called for improvement of the process used to select bid cities, in response to the Bay Area’s claim it was treated unfairly during the 2012 Summer Games election.
Ward said, “It’s got to be reformed in the future so it is fully vetted. There is always something to go back and ask, ‘Why did this happen?’”
Members of the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee were upset because USOC leaders told voters just before last weekend’s election to ignore one of the group’s key selling pints – a $400 million surplus they claimed would support sports programs.
Ward emphasized that the election was impartial. He said some of the concerns raised could help make it more transparent, but he defended the actions taken.
Ward said he was sensitive to the claim that politics played a role in the result, but that it was unfounded.
But Charles Moore, chairman of the task force that reviewed the bids said, “it was the right system and requires no reform. I think we brought more integrity to the process than ever before”.
Moore said he decided to tell voters to ignore either city’s promises of a surplus because of questions that surfaced during the USOC board meeting. “I wanted to be clear, you can’t spend the money when you don’t have it”.
